Slander Tongue – Slander Tongue (Slovenly Records)

Slander Tongue – Slander Tongue (Slovenly Records)

Slovenly Recordings welcomes Germany’s suave rock’n’roll true-believers SLANDER TONGUE to our stable of international beat group sensations! On their debut, self-titled LP (that’s this one you’re holding here, Mac), we have a heady brew of solid gold Real Kids vibes, with guitar solos that don’t allow for the passing of urine during between-song pauses. Think of Johnny Thunders sharing a ride with Fred “Sonic” Smith, while Ian Hunter and Chris Bailey are drunk in the backseat howling along to a beat-up tape of “Goat’s Head Soup.”  Right, let me stop you right there.  Are you kiddin’ me? We’re having some of that with that description from the PR company.  We drop the needle and hey presto ‘Soozie Stooge’ rocks into the ether with a stripped-bare rock n roll par excellence backbeat and whilst the eyebrow is still raised we’re diggin this.

Berlin is a cool place anyone whos been there can find Rock and Roll in every nook and cranny and when these cats turn the amps up the floor is filled with kids jumping around ‘Status Quo’ has the retro feel of a band just playing rock n roll with no frills and no airs and graces just good tunes and that cocky confidence that they damn well know they can carry their tunes.

Man on ‘Goin’ Down’ they sound like their channeling the early Beatles from the Reeperpabahn with some boogie courtesy of Rockpile slung in for good measure.  They’ve kept it simple with plenty of handclaps and bottleneck and those Thunders like solos – Great stuff! That folks is pretty much the modus operandi for the record to be fair.  Honest, loud rock and roll.

Sometimes they dip their toes into the 60s styling with more reverb on the vocals like ‘Wild Child’ which to be fair people would be going gaga over if it were Backstreet Girls knocking this out the guitar interplay is most appealing indeed. Love that bass run on the devilishly good ‘Lucifer’ and then its the home straight as the band just get on with playing some straight-up tunes with melody – great arrangments and attitude.  Don’t know if I want to play it again or go down to the pub and have a good time.  they seem happy to wear their influences on their sleeves and that’s cool with me. How great would it be if there were ten bands like this in every City playing live and making record the world would be a better place that’s for sure.

There is nothing to dislike here at all its a winner or a record.  Bursting with top tunes that’ll boogie and rock n roll you every time you feel down and want a pick me up.  It’s going out tunes and when your out you will have the tunes rolling around your head wanting to put ’em on again. Slander Tongue = Top band!, Top album.

 

Bandcamp

Author: Dom Daley

PSYCH-PUNK DUO THE LOVELY EGGS REVEAL ARTWORK & TRACK-LISTING FOR NEW ALBUM ‘I AM MORON’

PSYCH-PUNK DUO THE LOVELY EGGS REVEAL ARTWORK & TRACK-LISTING FOR NEW ALBUM ‘I AM MORON’

‘I Am Moron’ – DUE APRIL 3rd VIA EGG RECORDS

 

UK TOUR ANNOUNCED FOR APRIL AND SELLING OUT FAST!

 

SPECIAL INSTORE APPEARANCES CONFIRMED FOR APRIL INCLUDING FREE GIG IN LANCASTER AT A SECRET LOCATION!

 

NEW SINGLE ‘STILL SECOND RATE’ RELEASED MARCH 27th

 

It’s a very busy time in Eggland right now. Since the release of their last album ‘This Is Eggland’ in 2017, The Lovely Eggs have sat back and watched the world mutate and slowly eat itself. However, rather than remaining frozen in despair, they have used their relentless analysis of a modern culture that is bringing the world to its knees and poured every bit of inspired anger, contempt and hysterical laughter into new album ‘I am Moron’.

 

We got to hear the first results of their observations as 2020 lurched into life from its seasonal slumber, in the seething two-minute-and-fifty-seconds of rage in ‘This Decision’ and its accompanying mind-scrambling video, signaling the return of the Lancaster psych-punk duo. The single reached number #1 in both the physical and vinyl charts and was hammered by DJs at BBC 6 Music including Iggy Pop, Marc Riley, Steve Lamacq, Chris Hawkins, Gideon Coe, Tom Robinson and John Kennedy at Radio X. Not a bad start to their year, at all.

 

While The Lovely Eggs have already announced their April tour, and it’s selling out fast, they have also confirmed a string of special record shop in-store appearances, a surprise hometown free gig at a secret location, a new single ‘Still Second Rate’ to be released alongside the album, and have revealed the eye-gouging album artwork and full track-listing. See, we said there was a lot going on.

 

‘Still Second Rate’ will be available, as it should be, on limited edition snot green colored vinyl and backed by the non-album track ‘Jam Wild Jam’.

 

‘I am Moron’ is their second album to be co-produced and mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Tame Impala) and continues their journey through Eggland into the unknown, with artwork by genius artist and video director Casey Raymond, who has the unbridled talent to perfectly visualize The Lovely Eggs sound,  spewing Eggland out in a swirling whirlpool of dayglo colours, melting faces and symbols.

 

Throughout their 13-year career, The Lovely Eggs have embraced isolation. Both metaphorically and geographically the married couple have chosen to shun the social conventions of normal life and dedicated their band and their life to the pursuit of what feels right.

 

Operating out of their hometown of Lancaster, The Lovely Eggs are lonely pioneers and self-confessed kings of idiocy. Working in an industry whose currency is money, success and nepotism, The Lovely Eggs want none of it. They call out everything fake and plastic about the music industry and demand you to re-evaluate on their terms.

 

‘I Am Moron’ was self recorded by the band in Lancaster (“The Twin Peaks of Northern England”) between Lancaster Musicians Co-op and their home. During the recording, Lancaster Musicians Co-op was threatened with closure, so the band put their album on hold to fight the eviction.

 

While the band were writing the album, they became fascinated by the Mars One program- a global project which aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Applicants are offered a one-way ticket- never to see earth again. This fascinated Holly and David who drew parallels between this mission and their own isolation as a band.

 

Continuing the heaviness of ‘This is Eggland’. ‘I am Moron’ brings more depth to their sound bringing with it a mix of heavy psych, pop and strangeness. Some songs flicker between an earthly realism and the otherworldly loneliness of a one-way space mission. While in contrast, ‘Insect Repellent’ launches a gonzo-style attack against the middle classes and Bearpit questions the essence of working-class freedom.

 

With no booking agent, manager, record label or publisher The Lovely Eggs are truly independent. And this isn’t due to economics. This is by design. From day one. And support for them is snowballing. They are selling out bigger and bigger venues and more eggheads are joining them in their crusade against bullshit.

Welcome to their world. This Is Eggland!

 

‘I am Moron’ track-listing:

 

  1. Long Stem Carnations
  2. You Can Go Now
  3. This Decision
  4. You’ve Got The Ball
  5. Bear Pit
  6. I Wanna
  7. 24 Eyes
  8. The Mothership
  9. Insect Repellent
  10. The Digital Hair
  11. Still Second Rate
  12. New Dawn

 

Catch The Lovely Eggs live in April at the following special in-store appearances and FREE ENTRY release gig in Lancaster at a secret location.

 

Fri April 3rd…

Piccadilly Records 12.30pm

HMV Lancaster 5pm

 

Sat April 4th…

HMV Blackpool 10.30am

Action Records, Preston 12.30pm

HMV Carlisle 4.30pm

 

Sunday April 5th…

Hometown FREE ENTRY “I am Moron” release show in Lancaster at a secret location!

 

Thursday April 9th…

RPM Newcastle 4pm

 

‘I am Moron’ UK dates as follows:

 

April 2020

Thur 9 The Cluny, Newcastle

Fri 10 The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds *SOLD OUT*

Sat 11 The Castle and Falcon, Birmingham

Sun 12 The Bullingdon, Oxford

Mon 13 The Fleece, Bristol

Tues 14 The Loft, Southampton

Wed 15 The Portland Arms, Cambridge *SOLD OUT*

Thur 16 Komedia, Brighton

Fri 17 The Garage, London

Sat 18 Gorilla, Manchester *SOLD OUT*

Friday 24 Network, Sheffield [New date added]

 

May 2020

Fri 1 The Mash House, Edinburgh

Sat 2 CCA, Glasgow

Thur 7 Ulster Sports Club, Belfast

Fri 8 The Workman’s Club, Dublin

Sat 9 Dolan’s, Limerick

 

Tickets available HERE:

 

Physical pre-order link HERE:

 

Find The Lovely Eggs online at:

 

WEBSITE

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The Interrupters, The Skints – Cardiff Tramshed 27.01.20

The Interrupters, The Skints – Cardiff Tramshed 27.01.20

With three bands on the bill tonight and the M4 traffic, it was always going to be a struggle to get there early enough to catch all three so sadly Buster Shuffle was a victim of congestion getting off the motorway so as we make our way into the packed Tramshed The Skints amble onstage and proceed to lay out their stall of ska but with added dollops of Reggae. With vocals coming from Josh, Jamie and Marcia there was a lot going on especially with Marcia providing keys as well as Saxophone, flute and drum pads.  Not for me, I’m afraid to say, I prefer my ska with added rock like The Bar Stool Preachers or Jaya the Cat but I did appreciate they handled their craft with style and precision but it was a little laid back for me tonight maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a chill-out.

Now the last time I saw the headliners was their first headline tour of the UK whilst they were good (the songs are great) I found the showbiz side of their slick performance a little too much too soon if you know what I mean.  Tonight, Was a different beast altogether.  Sure they were still slick and the songs are great, upbeat numbers were knocked out thick and fast with added brass for good measure. The band is so positive and smiley tonight there was little banter between songs and they pretty much got on with the job and rocked! Let’s face facts here The Interrupters have drive-in abundance and a will to get to where they want to be and through sheer determination, they simply have to get to the top, they don’t expect anything less and if it’s through hard work and hitting the road then they’re going to put in the hard graft.

Cardiff is bouncing on a School night and if the band is gonna play then they are going to get a helping hand from the audience and the enthusiasm is infectious. In Aimee, they have star quality born with a beaming smile and a tonne of energy and backed up by the brothers three tonight they are on fire.

Starting off with ‘A Friend Like Me’ and straight into ‘By My Side’ it was a sign of intent. By ‘Take Back The Power’ the audience was won over and this was cooking up to be a special night. The band breaks into ‘Bad Guy’ by Billie Eilish and totally own it. Kevin took a breather and then the band jammed a crowd-pleasing ‘Message To Rudy’ Kevin seemed genuine when he said how blown away he was with this first night of the tour and a new City.  I’m sure the band were impressed enough to come back next time when they have a new record to haul around the globe and I’m sure the thousand capacity venue that’s rocking and rolling as one won’t be big enough to house those who want to come see the band who have managed to cross-generation divides as the audience is from teens to people almost collecting their bus passes and they’re all beaming.

‘She Got Arrested’ bled into ‘Gave You Everything’ and it was already time for the encore.  What a difference and sure Kevin played a snatch of Oasis followed by some Tom Jones which seemed to make his brothers and he laugh out loud but by this point I’m sure had he sung the local take away menu the crowd would have sung along. For the final slice of fake encore, we were taking stock of what had happened, oh yeah we’d even had a drum solo! oh yeah, remember them?  ‘Family’ preceded the final bow of ‘She’s Kerosene’ and we were out of there. The Interrupters had come of age.  Played a blinding set full of great tunes and people were wandering into the cold night air drenched in sweat and beaming smiles all around – It’s great when a band is just winning at life and by doing what they do spreading a little bit of that love and happiness around this island that short on that right now.  Until next time see ya! Exactly what the doctor ordered to shake of those January post Holiday blues.

 

Author: Dom Daley

Rainy Days & Mondays

Rainy Days & Mondays

Another day another week flys by.  Here check out these for good measure. First up is this brand new one from Saint Agnes.

So another day another lineup change for The DeRellas and this time it’s for keeps.  With a brand new single available check out the video right here right now!

RPM loved the album ‘Top Rock‘ if that doesn’t convince you then check out this video taken from the album.  ‘Fading To Grey’ is a great way to start any week.  What are you waiting for? Click it!

DBOY – New Records In Human Power (Alcopop! Records (UK) & Dine Alone Records (CAN))

DBOY – New Records In Human Power (Alcopop! Records (UK) & Dine Alone Records (CAN))

Dboy are a bunch of low slung masked maniacs ripping the balls out or early Turbonegro, Deadboys, and Dwarves. Instantly recognisable and equally as disturbing, this Canadian trio has a 13 point program to end sonic austerity. Dboy is here and now!

 

Hot on the heels of last year’s  ‘Ass Cobra’, uhhhh, I mean ‘Prove Your Love – Live in Belem’, Dboy blast into 2020 with ‘ New Records In Human Power’, a collection of 12 tasty chunks of filth and fury. Recorded by the legendary (?!!?) Steve Albini and presented here on super hot splatter vinyl. This thing is rough, raw and ready to fuck your world.

 

Screaming out of the blocks, ‘Why Do You Only Luv a Dboy’ is 54 seconds of pure skull-cracking fun. No time wasted baby, just a pounding riff and a razor-sharp hook. That said, by comparison, the opening tune is an epic compared to the 25 seconds of ‘Thumbless’ and 32 seconds of ‘Gimps Don’t Limp’. Fist in the air, balls to the wall stuff. This stuff will rip it up live when the band stumbles into your local sweaty shit hole club.

 

‘Performance Horses’ breaks the minute barrier, even with its false start. Boasting a great angular riff serving as its hook, it kind of puts you in mind of an evil Hives. Tasty stuff.

 

None of the tunes hang around for long. It’s straight out of their brain and into your pants !!!

 

Lead video track ‘Red Ultrglide’ is a regular 2-minute tune that’s anything but regular. It shines like a fallen star caught in the gutter. I guess you could say it’s a bit Lux Interior murders Bleach era Nirvana-ish but hell it even has a key change. None sexier.

 

‘DBoy Sells’ is the sound of the Devil’s beat group, taking us all to the halfway point of ‘New Records In Human Power ‘ within 6 minutes of the needle first caressing the vinyl

 

I like ‘Scavangers Of Luv’ a lot. You can feel the twang of the knee level bass. Fuck it, I’m listening to this one again. “Oh here we go again, the dboys of your heart, The perfect candidates to tear your city apart”. Fuck yeah. ‘Money Talks’ carries the torch in the same vein. We’ve broken the 2-minute barrier again. This must be the prog side ‘coz there’s even time for a guitar solo on this bad boy !!!

 

‘Full On’ spits out tales of sex, violence and stylish clobber, while ‘Hips’ is a full-on call to arms. No verse – chorus – verse – chorus here, just a gut level lyrical assault. Another stand out tune in a pound shop treasure trove of dirty dirty RocknRoll.

 

Turbo has it in blue, The Hip Priests have it in black but Dboy have their ‘White Denim’. Full force and ferocious but hitting the spot again.

 

‘Love Will Always Find You’ brings down the final curtain with a mega Ramones blast. Short and sweet, blink and it’s gone…… but not forgotten.

 

There are only 300 copies of this bad boy on splatter so get in there quick or pay over the odds when it hits Discogs.

Find them on Facebook

Worship them on their own web site

Buy ‘New Records In Human Power’ Here

 

Author: Fraser Munro

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS – New Album, Single & Live shows coming in 2020

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS – New Album, Single & Live shows coming in 2020

New Single ‘DON’T BELIEVE’ AVAILABLE NOW

LISTEN HERE

LIVE ROYAL ALBERT HALL MAY 14TH

Highly influential post punk stars, The Psychedelic Furs release their new album, their first in nearly 30 years,  ‘Made Of Rain,’ through Cooking Vinyl on May 1st 2020  A single, ‘Don’t Believe,’ is available to stream now and download when you preorder the album from HERE 

To celebrate the release of ‘Made Of Rain’ The Psychedelic Furs have announced a very special show at the renowned Royal Albert Hall in London (May 14th). This show will feature exclusive performances of the new album along with the band’s fabulous and unforgettable hits. An exclusive presale for The Royal Albert Hall will be available next week for fans who preorder the new album from the band’s Official Store.  Tickets will be on general sale on Friday 7th February.

From its exhilarating opening bars, Made Of Rain – sounds like The Psychedelic Furs and them alone. It’s a joy to hear again, fresher than ever. Their peerless permutations of art, aggression and ambience drive the dynamics, and it’s always been this originality which has set them apart, a cut above. The album was produced by Richard Fortus, whilst mixing duties were handled by Tim Palmer (David Bowie, U2, Robert Plant).

Led by vocal and lyrical genius Richard Butler with his brother Tim on bass, The Psychedelic Furs released seven critically acclaimed studio albums – ‘The Psychedelic Furs” (1980), ‘Talk Talk Talk’ (1981),  ‘Forever Now’ (1982), ‘Mirror Moves’ (1984), Midnight To Midnight’ (1987), ‘Book Of Days’ (1989) and ‘World Outside’ (1991). They released many classic singles throughout the ’80’s and into the 90’s, including: ‘Sister Europe,’ ‘Love My Way,’ ‘The Ghost In You,’ ’ Pretty In Pink,’ ‘Heaven,’ ‘Heartbreak Beat,’ ’All That Money Wants’ and ‘Until She Comes.’

In recent years the band have toured continually completing a tour of North America in 2019 and played acclaimed shows at The Hollywood Bowl, All Points East, Hyde Park and Benicàssim. A celebrated handful of UK shows including headlining the prestigious Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall at Robert Smith of The Cure’s request. This past October, the band played a sold-out tour of the UK and Europe which culminated in a triumphant show at the Roundhouse in London.

The last few years has seen the band’s legend growing, highlighted by the fact they have scored over 150 million streams of their songs worldwide. Their influence since arriving on the post-punk scorched-earth landscape four decades ago has reverberated and resonated from everyone from The Killers to REM to Foo Fighters to Bob Dylan has sung their praises.“I’m aware of the fact that people cite us an influence”, says Richard, “though I don’t often recognise it in their music. It’s gratifying of course, as it is that there’s still an interested and enthusiastic audience for us. That’s an honour.”

Many moons after Pretty In Pink (sort of) inspired that John Hughes movie, Love My Way has featured in Oscar-winning film Call Me By Your Name and The Ghost In You in sci-fi smash Stranger Things showing that The Psychedelic Furs are sounding stronger than ever. As anyone who’s seen the band lately knows, Butler remains one of the most watchable frontmen in the game.

Richard Butler – Vocals / Tim Butler – Bass / Mars Williams – Saxophone / Paul Garisto Drums / Amanda Kramer – Keyboards / Rich Good – Guitar.

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The Singles Club – February (Lovers edition)

The Singles Club – February (Lovers edition)

Considering we’re in the early knockings of a new decade it’s impressive that bands take the time to put out singles at this time of year anyway.  We welcome some fresh meat onto our pages and welcome back some brothers we always have time for on RPM for their sheer excellentness and an amazing repertoire of top tuneage. Oh, and good effort on bands like Smash Fashion who are embracing the format with two new bangers which is everything we love about Rock and Roll.  So here’s an impressive starting eleven me lovers, check these treats out…

The City Kids – ‘Best Of You’ (self-released) Not to be confused with Welsh glam legends City Kidds, this is the new project from former Main Gains axe-slinger JJ Watt. ‘Best Of You’ is the first single from their upcoming debut album ‘Things That Never Were’ and all proceeds from this release go to Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of Mikey Lawless from Falling Red.

JJ handles vocals and guitar on this project and he is joined by Dennis Post (Warrior Soul/Flush The Fashion), Berty Burton (Tigertailz) on bass and Falling Red drummer Dave Sanders.

‘Best Of You’ is a low slung, gritty rock ‘n’ roll number that stays true to JJ’s roots. Think Circus Of Power meets The Yo-Yos for reference. Vocals that can’t hide a 40 a day habit and a penchant for a rum or two, mix with greasy biker rock and tons of melody, what more could you desire?

Billy Tee and Alex Holmes from The Suicide Notes add vocals, guitar and a certain swagger to the ramshackle ‘Round And A Round’, which was co-written by JJ and a certain Mr Kory Clarke. This four-track release adds demos of the single and an old Main Grains track that they never recorded called ‘You Get Nothing’ that is worth the asking price alone.

All tracks feature on the album, albeit different versions, making this release more than just a curio for lovers of The Main Grains, The Wildhearts, Warrior Soul or anyone with a love of no-frills rock ‘n’ roll. Bandcamp / Facebook

 

 

 

Smash Fashion – ‘Got Da Hee Bee GeeBee’s’/ ‘Benny And The Jets’ (Yeah Right! Records) Smash Fashion tip the hat to the early punk rockers and they manage to spit their gum out long enough to knock this one right out the park.  exactly what a 7″ single should sound like, “cool as” kids trust me, Snotty and with a bit of street muscle Smash Fashion turn their efforts to the classic 7″ single and do it justice – nice.  Then flip it over for some retro-tinged Hoople hand-clapping, shithouse shaking Rock and Rolla. Damn Smash Fashion just gets better and better.  Check it out right now! Its an order.   Facebook  Pick it up Here

 

 

 

 

The Hip Priests – ‘Drink To My Demons’ (Speedowax Records)  Well as I wipe my brow those Hip Priests are in the house making good on the reason why a singles club is an essential staple of any website.  Yeah, so they’ve done plenty of singles so what? This ones a sexy picture disc! They’ve not done that before so new ground there for those purveyors of awesome Garage Rock. With more power than a front row of F1, this is a tasty twosome.  ‘Drink To My Demons’ is a banger (of course it is bla bla bla) No it really is. Nobody does it better as Von Cruz spits out the lyrics and no doubt fueled by the world they live in, The Hip Priest lead the charge in 2020,  For me, all the intrigue was about the B side and how The Priests were going to tackle the Adam And The Ants B-side from the ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’ single – ‘Press Darlings’. Oh wow! truly spectacular this needs to be heard Adam should hand over ownership pronto The Hip Priests absolutely kill it. magic stuff. Don’t pass this one by folks, just buy it or be left with custard pie(ella) on your face. Spasm Gang members can pick it up with some rather tasty beer mats thrown in as well.  Facebook

 

Rotten Mind – Not One Of You (Lövely Records) Today marks the release of “Not One of You”, Rotten Minds third and last single taken from the band’s fourth album “Rat City Dog Boy”, set for release this week February 7 to be precise on Lövely Records. “Not One of You” is the most darkwave- inspired track of the LP. The reverby guitar sounds, fat and pumping bass à la Joy Division and lyrics about alienation contribute to a gloomy atmosphere.Facebook

Lövely Records Facebook

 

 

 

Hells Ditch – ‘Vacant Hearts’ (Disconnect Disconnect (UK), Rose Coloured Records (UK) & Bypolar Records) 

Featuring ex/current members of Bad Ideas, River Jumpers & Dearist  Hells Ditch release their debut single next month on 7″ but is available now to stream.  With a modern punk rock sound its no surprise to see the band get  Mass Giorgini who has previously worked with the likes of  Rise Against, Anti Flag and Alcaline Trio. Whilst hailing from the UK they have a sprightly American sound which will have wide appeal. Be interesting to hear some more of these guys they could do really well.

Website / Facebook

 

ÅSKVÄDER – ‘NOTHING TO LOSE’ (The Sign Records) Unadulterated pure ’70s Rock that’s where ÅSKVÄDER are coming from with this the first single taken from their upcoming S/T debut album, to be released on The Sign Records this coming March. Yes, they’re from Sweden (where else?) is it Action enough for the Action Rock crowd?  (I’d say it certainly is) with some of that southern Rock boogie and a raw on the prowl guitar sound, this is sharp and whilst its roots are back in the mists of time they are not.  Check it out on streaming sites everywhere.

Facebook / The Sign Records Facebook

 

 

The Venomous Pinks – ‘I Want You’ (Die Laughing Records) Tempe, AZ all-female punk rock trio The Venomous Pinks has released a new single and music video, a cover of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ “I Want You,” which will appear on the band’s upcoming album of the same name.

The Venomous Pinks hit this particular nail squarely on the head with a ten-pound sledge. No subtlety, no compromise just a damn good interpretation of a Jett classic.  Not a band to be trifled with. Top tune!  Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

 

 

The Monsters – ‘I’m A Stranger To Me’ (Slovenly Records) Wild, reckless, outta control.  Just the way we like it here at RPM.  The lead track rattles along in spectacular fashion. With a guitar that’s like a twitching, buzz saw hacks and cuts through the moon the loon style drumming – its a rocket ride of a tune and that’s good enough for us.  Check em out.  flip it over to see if they are more than a one-trick pony and ‘Carpool Lane’ begins with some white noise before the slow Sabbath with no bottom end enters the fray …oh hang on we’re off on some hypnotic march.  Nuts I tell thee but what’s wrong with that?  Nothing that’s what.  Check out Monsters they rock!

 

 

 

Soraia – ‘Dangerous’ (Wicked Cool Records) Philadelphia rock quartet Soraia will release their new album ‘Dig Your Roots’ on March 13 via Steven Van Zandt’s label Wicked Cool Records. American radio is blowing up over these cats and having been influenced by the likes of Joan Jett and the vines so it’s a no brainer they were going to feature on the pages of RPM. Being part of the Wicked Cool roster isn’t too shabby either. this track released off the album ‘Dig Your Roots’ is punchy and has a decent riff on that chorus as you can see Joan Jett has indeed been an influence and its good to hear that again this month! Facebook

 

 

 

The Ghost Wolves – Lets Go To Mars (Dirty Water Records) Austin Texas has thrown up plenty of noteworthy bands and Ghost Wolves are certainly one of the busiest. Blending rock n’ roll, punk rock, garage and blues with electronic elements, the duo has earned a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in the modern rock n’ roll underground, touring internationally for almost 8 years straight, with nearly 1000 shows between them in 23+ countries including most of Western Europe, USA, U.K., and Japan. ‘Let’s Go To Mars’ is their latest offering on wax

Märvel – ‘Märvellous’ (The Sign Records)  The EP contains four tracks of hard hitting Rock n Roll; ‘Amaze-O’, ‘Marvellous’, ‘Public School 75’ and ‘A Taste of Platinum’.  Digital and 7″ vinyl.

Märvels debut EP “Märvellous” claimed to be recorded in 2002 for the American label New York Powerhitters during the bands exchange semester in Colorado. Märvel returned to Sweden before the songs were released, and the EP never got to reach the ears of Märvels dedicated fans. Well, Worry no more Märvel fans because the band has re-recorded the EP and it’s here. What does it sound like? Well, its got a flavour of classic Märvel of course but its got classic rock running through it from the Kiss like riffage on ‘Amaze-O’ and the pick of the four would go to ‘Märvellous’ again, more than a nod to what they learnt in Kisstory lessons at Rock school.  So you know where this  ones going kids its quality Rock! Marvel style.  Now go get one before they’re all gone gone gone.

Order the EP here:Bandcamp – Märvel

Shake! – ‘Grasping the Roots’ ( Family Spree Recordings)

Shake! – ‘Grasping the Roots’ ( Family Spree Recordings)

Certain dangers exist in belonging to different music groups on Facebook with the ability to learn about new bands all the time being one of them as this is another case of spending money on an album after someone said good things about it. Ironically, Shake! came recommended through an Action Rock group which isn’t reflective of this soul infused rhythm and blues rock album that appears to be the second by Shake! so I have some additional catching up to do.

Setting the stage and establishing high expectations from the start is exactly what they do with opener ‘Ready to Love.’ The body moving starts from the moment you hit play, and I love the use of the horns here.  You may initially think that you have turned on a past album by Otis Redding or James Brown and then Martillo Fontana’s voice comes through the speaker with a combination of a smooth and rough voice that fits the sound perfectly.  Pau Rossello’s bass is also front and center in the mix with the drums by Magnel Priego. ‘She’s Dynamite’ continues the brilliance with the horn work by Pol Padros and Jordi Sanjuas front and center at the start, and the guitar work by Cleve Carter is excellent. If the songs don’t have you moving, I would suspect you are tied down somewhere. What the band are doing is not new, but they do it amazingly well. The rhythm becomes a little slower and more deliberate on ‘Getting Stronger’ where you can imagine the venue turning into a dark and smoky dance floor from many decades ago with Fontana turning in an excellent vocal that is enticing and filled with soul. Carter squeezes the notes out of the guitar and lets them linger in the air like a candle on the verge of extinguishing itself.

Turning up the tempo, ‘Shooting Stars’ sounds like a train racing down the track and highlights how great the production and mix are on the album. Every instrument stands out in the mix, and nothing feels lost. Padros and Sanjuas positively rock across this album with this being just one of the highlights as the horns get the song started. ‘I Can’t Wait’ is a larger than life ballad where Fontana gets an opportunity to showcase her amazing vocal. The guitar work is impeccable and really shines in the richness of the mix. Wrapping up the first half of the album is the rocking and grooving instrumental ‘Nightbreed.’ I have a live image in my head of a club in the ’60s with the sweat dripping off the walls, the clouds of smoke hanging just below the ceiling and the band shining through the spotlights. It provides a cool close to the first half of the album.

Kicking off the back half of the album with a cool blues riff, Fontana’s voice is given front and center attention over a rocking beat. While this may not be my favorite on the album, it is highly enjoyable and shows the band working in perfect union with one another. ‘There Was a Time’ has been a favorite since I first heard the album, and that shows no sign of changing. It is a show stopper ballad where Fontana shows a raw emotional vulnerability in her vocal, and her voice in the chorus tears holes in the heart. ‘Stax Rules’ makes it clear that the band has no problem showing where many of their influences originate. Fontana here has me thinking about Sass Jordan where the bluesy sandpaper side of her voice gets more of the focus. The rhythm section leaves you no option but to keep the body shaking and moving.

‘Almighty Fire’ boogies along with more excellent guitar work by Carter, and the horns picking the perfect places to work in-between the rhythm. The chorus is subtle with this song proving to be a sleeping giant that really comes to life the more times you play the album. The melancholy guitar notes of ‘Lie to Me’ give way to the horns and an easy-going beat carry the song along with this being another example of the band taking the timeless soul songs from the ’60s and showcasing how timeless the sound is. Closing with the rowdy ‘Rip It Up’ is the perfect choice as it ends the album with a frenetic closer leaving you hungry to hear the whole record again. If you don’t see the walls of that club I mentioned earlier shaking in your mind, you need to turn it up louder. This serves as another reminder that these six people have an amazing chemistry together.

If you dig the likes of Otis Redding, James Brown, or any of the artists from Stax Records, I cannot recommend an album more deserving of your time. While not as rocking as the likes of the missed Saint Jude, they check off some of the same musical boxes for me while also providing an excellent album to play in the middle of the night. This album will get your hips shaking and could soundtrack some magic nights in your life for years to come.

‘Grasping the Roots’ is available now.

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Author: Gerald Stansbury

 

ANVIL release New Video Off their forthcoming album ‘Legal At Last’

ANVIL release New Video Off their forthcoming album ‘Legal At Last’

ANVIL have released their new music video ‘Legal At Last’, the title track from their upcoming album. “Legal At Last is our way of telling the public: ‘It’s okay, Anvil are okay, you’re allowed to like us at last!’ ”states Lips.

‘Legal At Last’ will be released via AFM Records and the album will be available as digipak, digital, black vinyl and some limited colored vinyl.
ANVIL got busted, back then when they were touring in Nebraska & this is what their new pounding and powerful single is about. The reason?

When it comes to virtues such as endurance, unconditional commitment and a thoroughly down-to-earth attitude, Anvil are the measure of all things. Like few other metal acts, the band surrounding founding members Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow (vocals, guitars) and Robb Reiner (drums), plus bassist Chris Robertson have earned their laurels of blood, sweat and tears.

Since their 2009 documentary film The Story Of Anvil which revealed the unvarnished truth about the music industry, the world has been aware that the day-to-day life of most musicians doesn’t consist of MTV Awards, Grammy ceremonies, red carpets, champagne and caviar but mainly of energy-sapping tours with little sleep, junk food and meagre earnings. Yet these difficult conditions have made Anvil what they are today: a band that stands rock solid in the turbulent waters of a musical genre that produces music like no other, by fans for fans.

So Robb Reiner refers with a sense of justified pride to Anvil’s latest release Legal At Last simply as “one more Anvil album”. Because quotes such as this show that the band has
survived despite all adversities, losing none of its musical style or sense of reality. Kudlow, Reiner or Robertson would never use clichés such as “harder, faster, louder” or attempt to present their own accomplishments as superhuman feats. Robb Reiner is right: Legal At Last is simply an impressive new statement by a band that stands for the same values in 2020 as it did when it was first launched in autumn 1978.

This new album is very special to Anvil: “Legal At Last is mainly about two things,” Reiner explains, pointing to the cover artwork with a grin. “We celebrate the legalisation of the Anvil bong because Canada changed its marijuana laws last year, which means we no longer sail close to the wind all the time. That’s why the album title announces that Anvil are legal at last.
Our fans have always known that, but the public at large treated us like criminals for a long time.” Kudlow adds: “Legal At Last is our way of telling the public: ‘It’s okay, Anvil are okay, you’re allowed to like us at last!’”

Kudlow is referring to songs which highlight Anvil’s great creative power. Be it the steam hammer flair of the title track, the unmistakably tongue-in-cheek ‘Nabbed In Nebraska’ with its driving mid-tempo groove which brings to mind the Anvil classic ‘Metal On Metal’, the critical undertones of ‘Plastic In Paradise’, the doomy orientation of ‘Said And Done’ and ‘Gasoline’, or fast and hard numbers such as ‘No Time’, ‘Chemtrails’ and ‘Food For The Vulture’: Anvil always get to the core of their characteristic sound. Which also applies to ‘I´m Alive’ and ‘Bottom Line’ – both rock numbers in the best sense of the term – and the comparatively catchy ‘Glass House’.

Talking of sound: For the first time in a career that spans more than forty years, Anvil have worked with the same producer on three consecutive albums. Like its predecessors, Anvil Is Anvil (2016) and Pounding The Pavement (2018), Legal At Last was produced by Martin ‘Mattes’ Pfeiffer (U.D.O., among others). Jörg Uken was in charge of mix and engineering at his Soundlodge studio in Rhauderfehn, Germany, where Pounding The Pavement was also finalised. Says Kudlow: “As a band, you need to surround yourself with people who share the same passion and commitment. Martin and Jörg have both, that’s why we make a perfect team.” And that’s exactly what every single note on Legal At Last oozes!

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Bad Wolves donate royalties to Dolores O’Riordan Children

Bad Wolves donate royalties to Dolores O’Riordan Children

On Wednesday 29th January at Bad Wolves Islington Academy gig ahead of their Wembley Arena gig today supporting Five Finger Death Punch, Dan Waite (Managing Director Europe) and Claudia Mancino (International Promotion Coordinator) from Better Noise Music were pictured with Bad Wolves with various Platinum, Diamond and Gold presentation discs made up in the name of Dolores O’Riordan, her Mother Eileen O’Riordan’s name and her brother and Cranberries Manager PJ O’Riordan to certify  “Zombie” as  RIAA certified platinum in the US and Sweden, double platinum in Canada, gold in Australia, IMPALA Diamond in Europe.

Bad Wolves have donated their royalties on their blockbuster single ‘Zombie’ to Dolores’ children.

Such a fantastic gesture from the band.  RPM Online applauds such actions so hopefully to get some more views here’s the video for ‘Zombie’.

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